TSA enlists Accenture to beat insider threat

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is seeking to address the insider threat at airports and seaports, after awarding Accenture Federal Services a contract to consolidate, verify and manage worker credential data.

Today in the United States there are several separate programmes to issue worker credentials and manage the resulting data. Under a five-year deal, worth a maximum of USD250 million, Accenture stated that it will consolidate these disparate systems to “increase consistency of information... and provide improved customer service to applicants”.

The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) for the US maritime industry will be the first programme to undergo this transition. TWIC has not been rolled out to the US aviation sector, but the need for improved staff access control is clear; engineering consultants whose work requires regular airside access at US airports tell IHS Jane’s that security procedures today are often laxer than in Europe. However, airport authorities are working to improve staff access control in recent years while remaining wary of any federal mandate that would force them to procure potentially expensive and unproven systems.